The Georgetown women’s basketball team worked their way to a 64-59 victory over George Mason on Wednesday. While the fourth straight win was welcome, the experience of the come-from-behind victory is a valuable asset as the Hoyas face a tough season.

Sophomore forward Rebekkah Brunson led the Hoyas yet again with 23 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard and captain Lesley Walker added 20 points, six rebounds and six assists.

After Georgetown opened the game with four straight baskets from Brunson and worked to a 20-10 lead, the Hoyas comitted several turnovers, which allowed the Patriots to go on a 23-4 run. George ason made three of seven three-pointers in the first half and shot 43 percent from the floor. The Patiots were ahead 33-24 at halftime.

“When a team gets a [23-4] run on you, that’s not very good, but it was strictly related to turnovers. We must improve on that, and we did in the second half,” Head Coach Pat Knapp said.

Coming out of the break, sophomores Jen Derevjanik and Vernessa Neamo made layups to increase the lead to 37-24. Derevjanik and Vernessa led the Patriots, scoring 14 and 16 points.

The Hoyas responded, going on an 18-9 run sparked by a steal by freshman point guard Mary Lisicky, who also had four assists on the night.

Productive trips to the foul line and good shooting enabled Georgetown to get within three points with 11:37 left. They took the lead for the first time in the second half with 6:25 to go.

“We were patient againt the zone, and got some good looks,” Knapp said.

Two free throws from Brunson (she was 7-for-8 from the line) put the Hoyas up 54-52 with five mintues left. Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch allowed the Hoyas to hold off the Patriots; they missed an opportunity to tie the score with 27 seconds remaining.

The Hoyas got to the free-throw line 23 times and shot 87 percent. They have steadily improved their free-throw shooting after a worrisome 53 percent against Colgate, when they visited the stripe 36 times.

Brunson did an excellent job of getting to the line after getting only one opportunity in the Hoyas’ previous game, a 77-64 win over Rider. She still mananged to score 22 points against the Broncs. She shot 8-for-12 from the floor against the Patriots on her way to her second consecutive game to score in double figures. She is fourth in the Big East in scoring with a 17.3 average and second in field goal percentage at 63.6 percent.

“She’s practicing well and she’s getting better,” Knapp said, although he expressed concerns about her being double-teamed as the season goes on. “She’s a marked person. Other people have to step up, starting Friday night and beyond.”

Lisicky ranks 12th in the Big East in assits per game average.

“Mary’s playing well. She’s playing solid. She’s running the team. She can improve to take care of the ball better. She will shoot it better; that’s going to come real soon,” Knapp said.

The Hoyas face Fairfield on Friday night at 8 p.m. in McDonough. The Stags are 2-1.

“We’re interested in developing and following a progression,” Knapp said. “We’re anxious to play on Friday.